French Montana has, despite the 3-year layoff between albums, remained startlingly relevant. Where most rappers would cower in the shadow of their meager first-week debut album numbers, French has brushed them aside as if they were merely the byproduct of a formality, and kept swimming. Mixtape after mixtape, concert after concert, feature verse after feature verse. If Gucci Mane is the gold standard for work ethic from behind bars, French might be the free-man equivalent. Bad Boy Reunion Tour? Featuring French Montana. The first time Kanye West and Nas team up in a decade? A French Montana song. A top-tier candidate for song of the summer, and its Jay Z-featured remix? Featuring French Montana.
His hustling persona will come to a head this month, when he’ll get another shot at commercial glory with the release of his sophomore album, MC4, which doubles as the fourth installment of his fan-favorite Mac & Cheese series, the last of which, Mac & Cheese 3, was delivered in 2012. The album includes two singles from French’s February Wave Gods mixtape, “Lockjaw” featuring Kodak Black and the aforementioned “Figure It Out” with Yeezy and Nasir, and it’s spawned another potential hit, “No Shopping,” featuring Drake. In addition to those heavy-hitters, French will be joined by Jeezy, Beanie Sigel, Jadakiss, Miguel and more on MC4, which we know courtesy of the album’s official tracklist, which you can check out below.
MC4 drops August 19.